Chapter 13: Darkness of Day

Daryl sat down at Carol's kitchen table in silence. He was furious but at the same time he was relieved. He had so many conflicting emotions that he just couldn't think straight. Carol sat down a glass of water in front of him and he grunted as a thank you.

"You need to talk about it?" she asked. He sighed and threw his head back. "It's okay if you don't I understand." She said. He spilled everything about what had happened, including that Brooke was three months pregnant. He had yelled but he never cried, he whispered and mumbled. He was a jumbled mess of how he was supposed to deal with everything and Carol understood that.

"I just don't even know how to feel, Carol." He said. "I'm so happy that she's alive, I love her more than anythin' but I'm so angry with her."

"Daryl, I know it's going to take you a long time to forgive her but I think she understands what she did was wrong. She needs you, especially now. After being away from her so long you need her too." Carol said. "What she did saved us but she didn't think about the effect it would have on us. I agree with you one hundred percent but look at us now. We live in a secure town where we can start over and you're going to be a father. She did all of this to help us even if it did put you through hell."

"I just wished she had thought about it." He said.

"I do too, I hated seeing you that way." She replied. "You need to go back to her though, you need each other." Daryl nodded and gave Carol a hug.

"Thanks Carol." He said and she patted his back.

"No problem." She gave him a kiss on the cheek and he left. Carol smirked at her friend as he left. She had done the best she could to help him and that made her feel amazing.

Daryl opened the front door to their house and the lights were off. He saw a little bit of glass on the floor and some scratches on the wall. He sighed, knowing she had thrown something in frustration. He walked up the stairs and into their bedroom where saw her asleep in one of his sleeveless shirts. She had the sheets covering her legs but he could see his shirt covering her bump. The skin under her eyes was puffy and her cheeks and nose were a bright red. She had been crying hard until she had fallen asleep. He pulled off his boots and laid down in bed next to her. He didn't want to wake her up so he reluctantly put his hand on her stomach. It felt wonderful to finally touch the bump that had been growing. He felt a little flutter in the stomach and knew that the baby had kicked. He breathed in sharply at the surprise. He smiled next and slowly started rubbing her belly.

"Um, hey babe, no, um, bump, I'll call you bump." Daryl began. "I know we haven't met before but I'm your daddy. I'll be a good daddy, I'll teach you things like how to talk, how to walk, maybe I can convince your momma to let me teach you how to hunt. I won't be like my daddy, I won't ever hurt you. I'll protect you and your momma because I love you both more than anythin' in the world." He kept rubbing her stomach until he heard her sniff. He looked up and saw that Brooke had turned her face away from him. "You heard that?" he asked.

"Every word." She replied. "Don't you remember that I'm a light sleeper." She joked and he chuckled.

"Yeah I remember." He said. She finally turned to face him.

"I'm so sorry." She said quietly and tears fell down her face again. He wrapped his arms around her.

"You know it's gonna take me time to forgive you." He said.

"I know."

"What you did was awful. I never told you how much hell I went through in the beginnin' of this thing when I thought you were dead. Everythin' I did reminded me of you Brooke. It tore me apart and when you finally came around I knew I could survive. Then you leave again and I hit rock bottom. Let alone the fact that son of a bitch was takin' you on dates."

"We didn't-"

"I know. I know Brooke." He said. "You're not a cheater and I know that. I told you in the beginnin' and I'll tell you again. I need you here with me. I don't want you runnin' around doin' everything you think you can do. One of these days you are not going to be able to do somethin' and you'll be dead. You're not Shane, you're not ruthless. You can't do everything and you can't do the things he did." She wept softly against his neck and he felt hot tears running down it. "I still love you no matter what but if you do a stunt like that again it's over. I can't worry if you're alive every second of the say like I have the past three months. Not happenin' again."

"I promise I won't ever do that again." She said. "I need you too Daryl. I love you more than anything."

"Then I won't leave you." He said. "It would've been the hardest thing for me to do but I just can't go through that again." He stopped and thought for a moment. He knew she would keep this promise now. Now that she realized the toll it takes on both of them, she wouldn't dare do it again. "I promise you I'll be there for you and the baby."

"I won't ever hurt you." She said against his neck.

"Oh no, you're gonna hurt me." He said.

"No I won't." she replied.

"So you're not gonna break my hand when your pushin' a Dixon baby out?" he asked and she chuckled against him. "You're not leavin' me again."

"Never." She said. "I can promise you that, Daryl."

"You better, you're my wife." He said.

"So I'm Brooke Dixon now?" she asked and he smiled.

"Yeah, I like it." He said.

"I do too." She agreed. He looked down at her and pulled her chin up to face him. He leaned in and gave her a sweet, closed mouth kiss. "I missed that."

"Me too." He replied.

"You wanna see my stomach." She asked and he nodded. She unbuttoned a couple of buttons from his shirt and pulled them away. He looked at her stomach carefully. "Bump seems okay." She said. "I haven't had that much trouble with it. I can tell it's a Dixon because it moves and kicks a whole lot." He reached out and rubbed her stomach again. He put his ear to it and he could hear its heartbeat. His breath was taken away. "I've been talking to it too." She said. "You should thank Merle, he was able to get me some prenatal vitamins."

"He take care of you?" he asked and she nodded.

"You have no idea." She said. "Oh and you saw Becky right?"

"Yeah and Meghan." He said. "Why, what's up?"

"Turns out Mitch isn't Meghan's father." She said.

"Then who is?" he asked looking into her eyes now, her beautiful, dark blue eyes.

"Merle." She replied.

"Doesn't surprise me now that I think about it." Daryl said. "Wow, Merle's a dad."

"Meghan really likes him too." She replied.

"Never thought I hear that." He said. "He'll make a good uncle though."

"That's what I told Bump." She said. He gave her belly a kiss and gave her another one.

"Come on, gets some sleep. It's been a long day." He said.

"Alright, I love you." She said.

"I love you too." He said and they laid back down. They fell asleep with him rubbing her belly. In the middle of all the darkness of that day, he had found some light. Brooke was okay, she was safe, and she was having their child. He knew that their road to recovery would be rough.